For Immediate Release

Contact: Caitlin Jenney, (303) 724-1520, caitlin.jenney@uchsc.edu

UCDHSC Investigates Whether “Walkable” Neighborhoods Get People Moving

Study of Stapleton will examine link between urban design and physical activity

AURORA, Colo. (July 30, 2007) – The Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center recently began the Study of Health in Families in Transition (SHIFT) as part of a national study to help answer important questions about the link between neighborhood environments, physical activity and health.

The SHIFT study will look at the activity levels and health behaviors of families who move to Stapleton, a community in the Denver metropolitan area designed with sidewalks and bike trails connecting residential neighborhoods to businesses and public buildings, for approximately 10 months.

Approximately 160 soon-to-be Stapleton residents are currently being recruited for the study. Researchers will evaluate the amount of physical activity residents get while living in their old neighborhoods compared to their activity levels once they move into Stapleton.

“This is an important study that will look at the effect of moving into a community that has been designed to encourage walking and biking,” said James Hill, PhD, professor, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at UCDHSC and co-principal investigator of the study. “Communities based on the principals of New Urbanism are designed to make it easier for people to walk or bike to their destinations. We will be looking to see if moving to these communities encourages residents to adopt a more active lifestyle.”

Residents will wear accelerometers, pedometer-like devices which measure the amount and intensity of physical activity a person gets, and they will maintain travel diaries with information about each instance of walking, biking or driving for any purpose. Each participant will also complete a survey answering questions about his or her diet, weight and quality of life as well as perceptions about the neighborhood in which he or she lives.

For context, researchers will use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess how activity-friendly each neighborhood is. They will also audit the neighborhoods to see if they include stores where residents can purchase healthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables.

The study is also being conducted in St. Louis, Atlanta, San Diego and Sacramento, Calif., and includes researchers from the University of British Columbia; Saint Louis University; San Diego State University; University of California, Davis; and Emory University. These research teams will compare the physical activity, diets and obesity rates of adults and children who move to “walkable” neighborhoods with the results of those who move to suburban neighborhoods designed for automotive transportation.

“This research could show if part of the solution to the growing obesity epidemic is to work with developers and builders to create new communities that encourage physical activity and healthy diets,” said Christine Hoehner, PhD, epidemiologist and co-principal investigator at Saint Louis University. “If communities like Stapleton accomplish their mission, the benefits could be huge. We may find that people who live in these kinds of communities are more likely to have a healthier weight because they are able to engage in regular physical activity. And beyond the personal health benefits, walking or biking takes cars off the road which could reduce air pollution, traffic and gasoline consumption.”

The project is funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). RWJF focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing the country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment and a rigorous, balanced approached to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in this lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

For information about the SHIFT study, call (303) 315-9027 or email Nicole.Edwards@uchsc.edu.

The University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center is one of three universities in the University of Colorado System. Located in Denver,

on the Auraria Campus, at Ninth & Colorado Blvd. and on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colo., UCDHSC is Colorado’s premier research university offering more than 100 degrees and programs in 12 schools and colleges and serving more than 28,000 students in Metro Denver and online. For more information, visit the Web site at www.ucdhsc.edu or the UCDHSC Newsroom at http://www.uchsc.edu/news.

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